PRO/CON VIEW: Should ticket-scalping be legal in Texas?

Published 1:00 am, Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The last thing the Legislature needs to do in the closing stretch of an important session is get distracted by a bill that would outlaw ticket scalping.

Lawmakers have no business interfering in a free-market transaction like this - especially Republicans, who dominate the Legislature and who boast about their love of capitalism.

People or companies who buy tickets should have the right to resell them. If they make a profit, good for them. If they lose money, that's a risk they took. Either way, it's nobody else's business.

If people make a commitment to buy season tickets or to wait in line for several hours to get prized tickets, they are putting forth more effort than the average fan. They should have the right to seek compensation for that effort, just like those who resell any other commodity.

If you object to ticket scalping, don't buy a resold ticket. But don't meddle with anyone else who might want to.

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ANOTHER VIEW: Scalping rips off average fans

Even in a wide-open state like Texas, some transactions should be illegal - and ticket scalping is a perfect example.

Ticket scalpers extort huge sums of money from fans who don't have their connections. At the recent Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, some tickets to the George Strait concert were resold for as much as $11,000. That's outrageous, and none of that profit went to the artist or venue. It went to middlemen who game the system and end up pricing out ordinary fans - who may miss a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Ticket scalpers often buy up large blocks of tickets before other fans have a chance to get them. They undermine efforts to keep ticket prices affordable and keep people away from stadiums and other venues often built with their tax dollars.

If ticket scalping is outlawed, a few wealthy brokers will be miffed and countless fans will be happy. That should be an easy call for lawmakers.

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